"Flickorna i Småland" (; ) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

song written in 1912 by

Karl Williams Karl Williams (born April 10, 1971) is an American former professional football wide receiver and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football ...

(known as ''Kalle i Dalen'') and composed by

Fridolf Lundberg Fridolf is a masculine given name. It is originally a compound of the German language, German words (''peace'') and (''wolf''). The Runic Danish accusative word may have a connection, although no parallel is attested in the history of Swedish, hi ...

. It became a long lived schlager. According to the

Swedish Tourist Association The Swedish Tourist Association (, ; abbreviated STF), founded in 1885, aims at promoting outdoor life and knowledge among the Swedes about their country. The Association maintains a variety of trails, huts and hostels in different parts of Swed ...

's 1968 yearbook, Karl Williams got his inspiration to the song a sunday, mid-year through 1912, on his way from Hamneda to a party in Torpa. While repairing his flat bicycle tire he got to see three beautiful girls around some nearby heather hills. "Flickorna i Småland" has been recorded several times. One of the earliest versions is by Eric Engström, who made an acoustic recording, without microphone, at

Hotel Continental A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refr ...

in Stockholm on November 15, 1919.tockholm : Skandinaviska grammophon 92-> In 1945 the song was sung by

Sickan Carlsson Sickan Anna-Greta Carlsson (12 August 19152 November 2011) was a Swedish film and theatre actress and singer. Biography From the 1930s to 1950s, Carlsson was Sweden's most popular film actress and its highest paid, topping the salary of even ...

in the eponymous movie '' The Girls in Smaland''. When the American vocal group

The Delta Rhythm Boys The Delta Rhythm Boys were an American vocal group active from 1934 to 1987. The group was formed at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, in 1934 by Carl Jones, Traverse Crawford, Otha Lee Gaines, and Kelsey Pharr. They moved to Dilla ...

toured around Sweden they picked up the song, which they first recorded in 1951. Their version became so successful that its melody is still mainly associated with them.

Eddie Meduza Errol Leonard Norstedt (17 June 1948–17 January 2002), better known by his stage name Eddie Meduza, previously known as E. Hitler, was a Swedish composer and musician working mainly in the rockabilly genre. Music career Themes and behaviour ...

released a version of it in 2002.

Lalla Hansson Lars Erik "Lalla" Hansson (born 10 June 1944) is a Swedish progg, pop and rock singer. He participates/has participated in the music groups Fabulous Four and Idolerna, and as solo singer he has had great prosperities with hits as "Anna och me ...

made his own version of the song with modified lyrics called ''"Det är killarna från Södermannagatan 61"'' (English: "It is the guys from Södermanna Street 61"). The hosts

Lena Philipsson Maria Magdalena Filipsson (born 19 January 1966), known by her stage name Lena Philipsson (), is a Swedish singer, songwriter and media personality. She represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contes ...

and

Charlotte Perrelli Anna Jenny Charlotte Perrelli (; ; born 7 October 1974), known until 2003 by her maiden name, is a Swedish singer and television host. Under her maiden name, she won the 1999 Melodifestivalen and subsequently that year's Eurovision Song Conte ...

sung it during the live-broadcast

Melodifestivalen 2003 2003 was the 43rd edition of the Swedish music competition , which was organised by (SVT) and took place over a five-week period between 15 February and 15 March 2003. The winner of the competition was Fame with the song " Give Me Your Love", ...

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...

as an intermission act. The song was again sung during

Melodifestivalen 2016 Melodifestivalen 2016 was the 56th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which selected Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The competition was organised by (SVT) and took place over the six-week period betw ...

Gina Dirawi Gina Dirawi (; born 11 December 1990) is a multi-awardwinning Swedish television presenter, singer-songwriter, author, comedian, radio personality, and actress. While she is best known as the only woman ever to host Melodifestivalen on three oc ...

and

References

External links

The Delta Rhythm Boys jazz-version of "Flickorna i Småland" from 1951 (YouTube)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flickorna i Småland 1912 songs Swedish songs Songs in Swedish Småland Songs about Sweden